In most applications for electronic communication, the user must supply a destination address in the form of an e-mail address, a URL, an IP address, a fax number, or the like. While there are contact databases (commonly referred to as “address books”) that accompany most such applications, there are few address books that can be used with more than one or two applications other than a primary application with which they are associated. Thus, a user must duplicate contact information in a plurality of address books and must usually provide at least a nickname for or a beginning of the destination address for an address book to provide a complete destination address in a destination field associated with a message. In addition, when one individual tries to send a message to another, the recipient is often not available by the method the sender selects. While e-mail and voice mail allow storage of the message until the recipient returns and retrieves the message, sometimes this is simply inadequate when the recipient might be reached by other methods.